Laundry blueing and souring composition



Dec. 27, 1938.

H. B. BISHOP LAUNDRY BLUEING AND SOURING COMPOSITION Filed Jan. 9, 1936INVENTOR Mommy B. 3/5/{01 ATTQRN EYS Patented ec. 27, 138

W is: A T

*- ill BILEUEENG AND SOUREJG COMPIP SE'LION Howard E. litishop, S a: w.w.

t, N. .F.

7 Claims.

The present invention relates to laundry souring compositions and to animproved method of manufacturing such compositions.

The standard laundry process includes the step of washing with soap aswell as a sterilizing and bleaching stage in which the fabrics aresubjected to the action of sodium hypochlorite, which is alkaline inreaction. A condition of alkalinity in the cleansed and bleached fabricswould, however, cause them to become discolored and weakened in thefinal ironing step and it is therefore general practice to subject thecleansed laundry to souring agents. It has also been standard laundrypractice to blue the cleansed fabrics to give them the desiredblue-white color of properly laundered clothes.

. Among the principal souring agents are acetic and oxalic acids andcompounds of fluorine having an acid reaction, such as sodium acidfluoride. Among the blueing agents which have been found satisfactoryare mixtures of sodium disulphonate and trisulphonate of triphenylrosaniline. In the proces of sulphonation some of the batches come out agreenish blue and some a reddish blue. By mixing a certain amount of thegreen with the red, a manufacturer of laundry products arrives at astandard for producing the desired shade for his requirements. Theserosaniline blues, when dissolved in water or an aqueous vehicle, do notproduce. their full color in such liquids, but if the liquid isacidified, the blue develops.

In order to save one of the steps of the laundry process, it hasheretofore been proposed to combine the blue with the sour so that thesouring treatment, or at least the flnal part thereof, and the blueingtreatment may be performed in one operation. When this was attempted inconnection with sodium silico fluoride, the mixture, unless a fairlylarge, batch'ofsolution (containing for example approximately 10 poundsof the sour-' ing salts in 40 gallons of water with one ounce of bluedissolved ina gallon of f hot water strained into it) was first madeup,,didnot succeed in properly performing the souring operation or' inadequately blueing theclothx The reason for,

these results has been fouhdby me tojbe due to the fact that sodiumsilicofluor'ide dissolves with difi'iculty'and triatytnebiuejwhenassociated with such salts,'.ifs not uniformly distributed but tends tospeckf'or' streak the] cloth. These results are in part also due tdthefact that in the bleach-1 ing step of the laundry process certain partsof some fabrics, "such' as a turkish' towel, will become over-bleached,forming oxycell'ulose, which "has an afinity for the blue, not onlyweakening the bath as a whole with respect to a uniform blue condition,but causing the blue to appear in streaks of different intensities.

The object of the present invention is to provide a laundry souringcomposition including a compound of fluorine having an acid reaction asthe souring agent, and a blue coloring material such as an aniline blue,combined in dry dustless screened powdered form, said powder beingreadily soluble and being accompanied in the preferred composition by'an oily coating agent. It is also an object of the invention to providea combined souring and blueing agent which will produce uniformlytreated goods without specks and streaks. Other objects of the inventionwill appear from the following description:

A typical method of producing my preferred composition is as follows: Iplace in a mixer of anysuitable type, such as a rubber-lined cementmixer or a Day mixer, a major portion of crystalline ammonium silicofluoride and a minor portion of sodium silico fluoride, the proportionof the latter to the former being determined by the amount of sodiumsilico fluoride which will go into solution-readily in a solution of theammonium silico fluoride. A 10% aqueous solution of ammonium silicofluoride dissolves 50% more sodium silico fluoride than does pure waterand by the use of ammonium silico fluoride it is possible to increasereadily the amount of sodium silico fluoride in solution. To thesefluorides I of bluedepends upon the grade selected for the product. Forexample, in regions where the water is low in alkalinity theratio ofblue to the souring agentsis preferably about 1: 124. Where "the waterisjmore alkalinegthe ratio is approximately 1: 160. Where the water ishighly alkaline, as on the Pacific Coast, the ratio would be about 1:"200'. The blue solution ismade up with as little water as possible,Itispreferablyfed to a glass-lined vessel inamounts .sufilcient to makeup one batchfyvithfthe mixturewh'ich is being preparedinthe'mixer;jsulphonated castor oil dissolved for example'iniso'propyl ether is thenfed in above the level of the blue solution move coarse particles.

in its glass-lined tank. About three pounds of the oil are used'for 250pounds of product. The oil floating on .the blue solution is therebypositioned to enter the mixer after the last part of the'blue solutionhas been introduced to the mixer, said oil thereupon functioning toprevent dusting while the isopropyl ether, volatilizing easily, assiststhe oil to spread. The oil as such is without deleterious eilect' in thelaundry process and has on the other hand a desirable, penetrating, andleveling action.

After the oil layer has been sprayed into the mixer, the procedure inthe mixer is completed. The mixer is then opened, the solvent escaping,the material in the mixer being run a little bit further, whereupon itis discharged into a sifter and passed through a twenty-mesh screen tore- Each particle of the product is by the foregoing treatment more orless coated with a fine film of oil. The product dries rapidly and isnon-caking. It is in crystalline or powder form and is then packed inwooden drums and shipped to the laundries for use. The laundry operatormeasures out his requirements which are standardized for each laundryand for each kind of goods of the same general class. The powderedproduct, measured out as stated, is introduced to the wheel containingwater and the cloth which is in readiness for the souring treatment.

On the accompanying drawing is shown diagrammatically a suitableapparatus for manufacturing the souring composition describedhereinabove.

A rotary mixer of conventional type is shown at ill, the same being madeof rubber or other suitable material which is resistant to the action ofthe fluorides and other substances employed in making my improvedsouring composition. If desired, any suitable steel or other vesselwhich islined with a non-metallic resistant material may be employed,the materials being mixed out of contact with metal. Hard rubber balls(not shown) or other devices for mixing and comminuting may be employedif desired. The mixer is provided with a circumferential gear II whichis adapted to mesh with a driving pinion (not shown) for rotating themixer at a suitable speed. The mixer is provided with a trunnion i2which is mounted in a pivoted bearing ['3 which permits the mixer to bemoved into a charging position indicated in dotted lines at I, into theoperating or mixing position shown in fuel lines at 2, or into thedischarging position indicated in dotted lines at 3. The capacity of themixer is such that it holds approximately 250 pounds per unit ofoperation, but, of course, its capacity can be varied.

According to the grade of product which it is desired to produce, amajor portion of ammonium silico fluoride in crystalline form, somewhatresembling granular sugar, is introduced with an appropriate proportionof sodium silico fluoride, as much as will dissolve readily, forexample, in a solution of the ammonium silico fluoride.

Approximately 40% by weight, of anhydrous dextrose is also introducedintothe mixer 10. These ingredients are mixed as dry powder in therubber-lined cement mixer Ill. The hard rubber bails tumbling about inthe mixer assist in the mixing and the comminution of the particles.v

Before adding the blue, the'mixer is preferably filled with an ammoniaatmosphere to neutralize any .free acid in the crystals. This avoids anydeleterious action on the blue.

After the ingredients of the mixer have been poured in suitableproportioninto the mixer while it is in the position shown at I, it isrotated into the full line position and the driving mechanism set intooperation. One or more nozzles M are then inserted through an opening !5in a cover plate l6 which is attached by means of thumb screws I! to aflange about the mouth of the mixer. The discharge opening of the nozzleis controlled by a needle valve l8 which can be manually adjusted by ahandle is.

In a separate vessel or tank 20 I introduce a solution of rosanilineblueand water, using as little water as possible and using, according to thegrade of product to be produced, a percentage of the blue which, whenmixed with the materials in the mixer ID, will give a ratio of 1 partblue to 124 parts mixture or 1 part blue to parts mixture, or 1 partblue to 200 parts mixture, depending on the alkalinity of the water tobe employed in the souring operation or any intermediate proportions maybe used. Above the level of the blue solution 2| in tank 20, I introducethe oil 2Ia. The vessel 20 is closed by a cover 22 which has an orificereceiving the pipe 23, controlled by valve 24, through which the bluesolution and the oil are fed into the vessel 20 and through whichsubsequently air under pressure is introduced to force the contents ofthe vessel into the mixer Ill.

The nozzle ll may be of the type employed in spraying paint and servesfor introducing the liquids in tank 20 in atomized condition into themixed materials in the mixer. The nozzle is connected with the tank byway of a rubber hose 25 and a tube 26 which extends to the bottom of thetank.

Upon connecting the pipe 23 with a source (not shown) of compressed air,there is forced through the nozzle l4, first the blue solution andfinally the oil into the mixer, the liquids being sprayed in forpurposes of thorough and uniform distribution. When the tank 20 isemptied, the nozzle H is withdrawn, the cover l6 0! the mixer is opened,and the mixer is run a short time during which the volatiles whichaccompanied the oil escape. Thereupon the mixer is tilted into thevdischarging position and the product of the mixer is passed through thesifter 2! into a car 28, said sifter being preferably a twenty-meshscreen adapted to remove coarse particles.

The dextrose material acts as a leveling agent for the bluewhen it goesinto solution in the laundry wheel and in the mixing step it takes upwater, apparently forming a monohydrate of dextrose so that the mixedmaterials .come out as a dry powder notwithstanding the introduction ofthe water of the blue solution.

The powdered product, which is practically dustless, is introduced intothe laundry wheel and the ammonium silico fluoride and sodium silicofluoride as well as the dextrose material go readily into solution,adequately souring the clothes. At the same time the blue effect isobtained and is uniform throughout the entire load. probably due to the.presence of the dextrose material and the sulphonated oil. The dextrosematerial also has an anti-color eflect, killing the traces of bleach,which may still be contained in the, cloth, so that as a-result abrighter and clearer, more uniformly-distributed blue is obtained.

According to the standard laundry process the souring step follows therinses after the sodium hypochlorite sterilizing and bleaching stage.Then ordinarily, following the souring stage, is

the flnal blueing stage. In the present instance, where the sour andblue are combined, there is not only a saving of one operation, butthere is also no such waste of sour as when the two steps are separatelyconducted, since in the case of the new product there is an automaticcheck in the condition which blues with relation to the amount of sourrequired for the souring step, for when there is an excess of sour, thegoods become too blue. At the same time the result is more uniform;there is a greater snap to the color and a greater freedom from spottingand/or streaking than if the blue step were conducted as a separateoperation. Furthermore, better neutralization of the alkali in the cloth(higher pH in the rinse water) is obtained with the new product thanwith the same amount of sour without the dextrose material. Apparentlythe reducing action of the dextrose material converts it at least partlyinto an organic acid which supplies additional neutralizing value.

In the new product sodium bifluoride may replace the ammonium silicofluoride though the latter is preferred. The new compound is especiallyadapted for use in connection with cotton fabrics.

Typical formulae giving proportions of the various ingredients used inthe three different grades of product hereinabove referred to are asfollows:

Dark. For water low in alkalinity.

Parts Ammonium silico fluoride 115 Sodium silico fluoride 25 Anhydrousdextrose 110 Medium-For water of average alkalinity.

' Parts Ammonium silico fluoride 159 Sodium silico fluoride 18%Anhydrous dextrose 72% sprayed with 10 parts blue solution containing 11b. dried color per gallon of water and 1% parts sulphonated castor oilin 2% parts of isopropylether.

Light -For water of high alkalinity.

Parts Ammonium silico fluoride 202 Sodium silico fluoride 12 Anhydrousdextrose 35 sprayed with 5 parts blue solution containing 1 lb. driedblue per gallon of water and 1%; parts sulphonated castor oil in 2%parts of isopropylether. The blue calculated in the above formulae isbased on blue content while the ordinary blue usually runs about 5 Therosaniline blue is a water and alcohol soluble blue wool dyestufl ofsingle generic composition having a slightly reddish shade that willtint cotton goods to a uniform shade in a bath. having a pH range from 3to 8.5. A dilute solution of the dyestufl should have the property ofbeing bleached to a. colorless solution with either sodium hypochloritesolution or sodium hydrosulphite solution.

I claim:

1. A readily soluble laundry souring and blueing compositionin dry,dustless, screened, powdered form containing as its major ingredientcomminuted crystalline ammonium silico fluoride, and as a minoringredient sodium silico fluoride, said fluoride crystals being neutralwith respect to free acids, and a moderately hydrated anhydrousdextrose, the said crystalline components being coated with a blueingagent.

21. A readily soluble laundry souring and blueing composition in dry,dustless, screened, powdered form containing as its major ingredientcomminuted crystalline ammonium silico fluoride and, as minoringredient, sodium silico fluoride, and a moderately hydrated anhydrousdextr'ose, the said crystalline components being coated with a blueingagent, the amount of dextrose in the composition being greater than theamount of sodium silico fluoride.

3. A readily soluble laundry souring and blueing composition in drydustless, screened, powdered form containing comminuted crystallineammonium silico fluoride, sodium silico fluoride, and a moderatelyhydrated anhydrous dextrose. the said crystalline components beingcoated with a blueing agent, the proportion of sodium silico fluoride tothe ammonium silico fluoride in the composition being such as to goreadily into solution in an aqueous solution of the ammonium silicofluoride.

4. A readily soluble laundry souring and blueing composition in dry,dustless, screened, powdered form containing as its major ingredientcomminuted crystalline ammonium silico fluoride, and as a minoringredient sodium silico fluoride, and a moderately hydrated anhydrousdextrose, the said crystalline components being coated with a blueingagent, the particles of the blue-coated crystals being in turn filmedwith sulphonated castor oil.

5. A composition such asset forth in claim 2, adapted for use inconnection with water low in alkalinity and in which the composition hasapproximately 115 parts ammonium silico fluoride, 25 parts sodium silicofluoride, partsdextrose material, and the evaporation residues of 15parts as blue solution containing one pound dry color per gallon ofwater.

6. A composition such as set forth in claim 2, adapted for use inconnection with water of average alkalinity'ancl in which thecomposition has approximately 159 parts ammonium silico fluoride, 18%parts sodium silico fluoride, 72 parts dextrose material, and theevaporation residues of 10 parts as blue solution containing one pounddry color per gallon of water.

7. A composition such as set forth in claim 2, adapted for use inconnection with water high in alkalinity and in which the compositionhas approximately 202% parts ammonium silico fluoride, 12 parts sodiumsilico fluoride, 35 parts dextrose material, and the evaporationresidues of 5 parts as blue solution containing one pound dry color pergallon of water.

HOWARD B. BISHOP.

